Arts & Entertainment

Top 10 Spooky Places in Charleston, South Carolina

1. White Point Garden
   Legend has it that pirates haunt this garden looking for their ship. People say they have seen orbs and other apparitions. Many have reported walking through cold spots throughout these gardens.
2. Old City Jail
   The Old City Jail was in use between 1802 and 1939 and held many prisoners during its time in use. During the Civil War, it held Union and Confederate troops. Pirates have a rich history in Charleston and many were imprisoned there.
3. Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon
   Once known as the Half-Moon Battery, it was a center of trade in Charleston and held a prison underneath it. There are still parts of the original city walls at this location.
   The prison was used to hold soldiers of The Revolutionary War by Colonialists and the British. It held prisoners from The Civil War including Union and Confederate Troops. But most famously, it was used to hold pirate legends such as Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard.
4. Poogan’s Porch
   This house was turn into a restaurant in 1976. The owners soon found that the previous owners left behind their dog. Poogan, the name of the sweet white-haired dog, was adopted by restaurant owners. They decided to name the new restaurant in the dog’s name, Poogan’s Porch.
   Poogan served as the unofficial greeter of the restaurant until he passed away in 1979.
5. Circular Church Graveyard.
   This Graveyard is one of the oldest graveyards in Charleston and Boasts nearly 500 gravesites that date back to 1695.
   Many of the stories here have come from tours through the graveyard. One tour guide recounted that one night she noticed a strange person walking around the graveyard. The guide said that it looked like a man dressed as a Revolutionary Soldier. According to her, she saw the figure at least 4 more times.
6. Battery Carriage House Inn
   The Inn one of the most historic hotels in Charleston and dated back to the 1850’s. It has had many owners throughout its history and became a hotel in the 1980s.
   Employees and numerous guests have reported seeing spirits and hauntings at the inn. They say that there are many different spirits that haunt the inn since the end of The Civil War.
7. St. Philips Graveyard
   The St. Philips Church is originally established in 1681 and this beautiful cemetery is located across the street from the church. It holds some of the more well-known historical figures of Charleston’s past including signors of The Declaration Of Independence and the US Constitution.
   In the 1980’s, a photographer came to the cemetery to take photos. He was able to get a photograph of a woman wearing a shawl bent over a grave of an infant. It is believed the women was Sue Howard who lost her child at birth in 1888. Sue died only 6 days after losing her child. The photographer had the photo analyzed and was determined to be real.
8. Dock Street Theatre
   The Theatre is believed to have one of the more famous ghosts in Charleston, the ghost of Junius Booth the father of the Assassin, John Wilkes Booth.
   Another ghost at the theater is Nettie. She lived in Charleston in the mid-1800s and would frequent this location when it was Planter’s Hotel as a prostitute.
9. Unitarian Church Cemetery
   The Unitarian Church is the second oldest church in Charleston. Two of the cemetery’s ghost are Mary Whitridge and Annabel Lee.
   Mary Whitridge lived with her husband in Charleston. He was a smoker and had extreme breathing problems. He took a trip to Baltimore to visit doctors to help him. On his trip to Baltimore, he fell ill and died. Legend has it that she collapsed and died in her home on the same day that he died.
   Another haunting is that of Annabel Lee. She fell in love with a man named Edward Allen. He was a soldier that was stationed at Ft. Moultrie. Anna’s father did not approve of their relationship. Because of his status, he was able to have Edward moved to a new location, Baltimore. While Edward was stationed in Baltimore, Anna fell ill. Once Edward heard about her sickness, he left to come back to her only to come too late. She had died.
   Edward started later found a new calling in life as a writer. He would soon be known as Edgar Allen Poe and go on to write about his love, Anna in a poem called, Annabel Lee.
10. The Powder Magazine
    It was built to hold gunpowder for use during The Revolutionary War. After The Revolutionary War, The Powder Magazine was used as a storage building.
    It is said that the building is haunted by the ghost of Anne Bonny. Anne Bonny was born in Ireland around 1697 as an illegitimate child. Her father left his wife and married Anne’s mother. He then took his new family to Charleston to start a new life.
    When Anne was 16, she met and fell in love with a Pirate named, James Bonny. Anne’s father did not agree with the relationship. They married anyway and shortly after moved to New Providence Island, Bahamas.